Education. Preparation. Success.

TED Talk: How to Make Stress Your Friend at OCS

Motivated Lecture Series

Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend

Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.

Our Take

Understanding the stress response will definitely benefit candidates at OCS or recruits in any military boot camp. The entire OCS experience is designed to see how you operate under extreme stress. While most modern stress management techniques won’t be available to you at OCS, you’ll still benefit from expecting and accepting the pressure which is bound to come. And don’t even think about trying to get your Sergeant Instructors at OCS to incorporate yoga, hot tea, and foot massages to help with your nerves.